On April 8, residents of Des Plaines, Chicago, Naperville, Libertyville, Mokena and Elmhurst?#34;some of whom grew up in a Gunderson house?#34;toured 10 outstanding homes in Oak Park's Gunderson Historic District as part of The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest's 3rd Annual Housewalk.

I stopped by the Dole Library recently and observed the program in action. What I saw was a boy reading to a dog. The dog was a medium-sized German Shepard named Wiley. The boy was reading in a slow and labored manner, while Wiley, sat at full attention with its ears up and head cocked. Wiley listened to every word the boy said with complete interest and seemingly unconditional love. My heart was deeply moved.

I write to thank all of you who voted in the primary election on March 21, and especially to thank those of you who voted in the Democratic Party primary and supported my nomination for re-election to the state senate. Thanks to you, I was able to celebrate a resounding victory.

As a former Chicago-area resident who practices special education law in Los Angeles, I was saddened to see a typically unbalanced article about special education costs in Wednesday Journal [Lawyers blame legal fees on complaints, March 29].

Kudos and compliments to all those involved in the Team Basketball Program at Oak Park and River Forest High School, especially Nikki Paplacyzk, chair of the Team Program; Ted Domanchuk, vocational coordinator, OPRF High School; and Roger Reiner, vocational coordinator, West Leyden High School.

You know, I'm pretty sure that the Oak Leaves ran a front page story about Eileen Hayward's sewer story a couple of weeks back. Why the Oak Leaves thinks this is a front page local story is beyond me as well as why you thought her viewpoint was valid enough to publish in Wednesday Journal Viewpoints is also beyond me.